GAZA, Gaza Strip - A Palestinian health official says at least 100 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in Gaza on Tuesday.

The high death toll comes as Israel has escalated its military offensive in the coastal strip.

Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra says the toll counts those killed from midnight on Monday.

The Palestinian death toll in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting has surpassed 1,100.

Since the start of Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip, there have been several instances when the daily Palestinian death toll surpassed 100.